Apparatus for treating gases



May 27, 1924. 1,495,563

H. D. RANKIN APPARATUS FOR TREATING GASES Filed Nov. 22, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet. l

WITNE S INVENTOR ATTORNEYS May 27, 1924. 1,495,563

H. D. RANKIN APPARATUS FOR TREATING GASES Filed Nov. 22, 1920 ZSheets-Sheet 2 WITNESS INVENTOR @ATTORNEYS Fatented May 27, 19249..

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HARRY ID. RANKIN, F COBOBTADU, CALWQWEA.

APPARATUS FG'R TREATING GASES.

Application filed. November 22, 19%. Serial No. 425,6111.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, HARRY D. RANKIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Coronado, county of San Diego, and

State of California, have invented certain new and useful Apparatus for Treating Gases, of which the following is a specification.-

The invention relates to an apparatus for subjecting gases, vapors, liquids or solids to the action of an electric arc, and relates particularly to the fixation of gases, vapors, liquids or solids, or combinations thereof and, more specifically, to the fixation or oxidation of nitrogen.

An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for producing endothermic gaseous or vaporous compounds economically.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus to accomplish abrupt and rapid cooling of the gases after the endothermic reaction has occurred.

The invention relates to the fixation of 25 gases, vapors, liquids or solids, or combinations thereof, by the sub'ection of the materials to an electric arc dame, whereby they are raised to extremely high temperatures which produce rearrangement of the ele ments of the materials, and then fixing the elements in their resultant rearrangement. I have found it advantageous to economic fixation that the resultant compounds at temperatures of thousands of degrees centigrade be abruptly and rapidly reduced in temperature, as they leave the arc, to a temperature below that at which any great percentage of the compounds produced would either dissociate or decompose. For example, in the fixation of nitrogen or the formation of oxides of nitrogen, the temperatures of the resultant gas should be instantaneously reduced to about 1200 centigrade. In my prior United States Letters Patent No. 1,056,830, dated March 25, 1913, to, which reference is hereby made, I have shown one means of coolin the resultant gases, which consisted in disc arging them from the furnace chamber through a water jacketed passage, and have named other means but I have found in some instances that any one method of cooling the ases when used alone does not produce a su ciently abrupt drop in temperature to produce the most economic results. In order to accomplish the desired abru t drop in temperature, ll provide for the a rupt and rapid expansion of the gases, the instant they leave the are flame, so that the gases are cooled sufioiently to fix the elements in their rearranged combination. I 69 find it economical to not only abruptly expand the gases but also to bring them in contact with a cold surface, so that the temperature is abruptly reduced both by expansion and heat conduction, and in some instances to contact the gases with a stream of cold gas or vapor projected into or against the hot gases.

The invention possesses other advantageous features, some of which, with the forem going, will be set forth at length in the followin description, where I shall outline in full t at form of apparatus of my invention which I have selected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and for 76 part of the present specification. In said drawings, I have shown two forms of apparatus of my invention, but itis to be un derstood that I do not limit myself to such forms since the invention, as set forth in $8 the claims, may be embodied in a plurality of other forms.

Referring to said drawin Figure 1 is a vertical section through one form of apparatus of-my invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section, taken on the line 2-2, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through a modified form of the apparatus.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the 90 line 44, Fig. 3.

The apparatus comprises a metallic shell 2, provided with discharge conduits 3, preferably disposed at the vertical center of the shell. The shell is preferably cylindrical in shape and is secured at its ends to annular metallic plates 4, and to the upper and lower closing plates 5 and 6. The plates 5 and 6 are spaced from the annular plates 4 by rings 7 of electrical insulating material.

Arranged within and spaced from the shell 2 is a cylindrical metallic wall 8 which, with the outer shell 2, forms an annular expansion chamber 9. Arranged within the intermediate wall 8, and spaced therefrom, is an inner m5 wall 12, which encloses the arc chamber 13 and which forms, with the wall 8, an annular cooling chamber 14, through which water or othercooling liquid is circulated. Extending into the are or combustionchamber 13, no

through the stufing box 15 and the top plate 5, is the upper electrode 16.. This electrode is metallic and hollow and water is circulated therethrough for the purpose of keeping itcool, the water entering through the tube 16 and discharging against the head of the electrode and flowing from the electrode through a suitable conduit connected to the electrode externally of the furnace. Extending into the combustion chamber from below is the lower electrode 17 which is preferably formed with a head 18 of material which vaporizes at the temperature of the arc to increase the conductivity of the arc gag. These materials are described in my U. Patent No. 1,150,786 of August 17 1915, to which reference is hereby made, but the materials may be otherwise introduced into the arc chamber when desired. The electrode 17 passes through a suitable stufiing box 19 secured to the lower closing plate 6.

The gases, vapors or other materials to be treated, are introduced into the arc chamber under pressure, so that a condition of pressure, usually of from 3 to atmospheres, exists in the chamber. These materials may be introduced through pipes 21 extending through the closing plates, and the pipes may be formed to direct the materials longitudinally of the arc chamber, as shown in Fig. 3, or two sets of pipes 21 may be employed as shown in Fig. 1, one set serving to cause the materials to discharge tangentially into the chamber and to swirl therein, and the other set to cause longitudinal projection of the materials, and the two sets may be used separately or concurrently, depending upon conditions of operation.

Means are provided to permit the materials resultant from contact with the arc flame to discharge from the arc chamber, immediately after they leave the .arc, and this means is so arranged that the materials in discharg ing are expanded to provide a temperature drop and are brought in contact with a cooled surface and cold gas or vapor to further increase the temperature drop. In the construction shown in Fig. 1, the arc chamber is provided, at a point substantially midway between the electrodes, with a narrow annular slot 22 connecting the arc chamber 13 with the expansion chamber 9. The slot 22 passes through the water jacket and the ends of the water jacket chambers are closed by annular plates 23, which define the slot. This divides the water jacket into two, parts and each part is provided with a water inlet pipe 24 and a water discharge pipe 25.

The slot 22 is narrow, so that a condition of pressure may exist in the arc chamher, and so that the resultant materials discharge through the slot at high velocity into the expansion chamber 9. The expansion chamber outlet conduits are large, so that no material pressure may be built up Leas es in the expansion chamber. The resultant gases cooled by expansion immediatel after they leave the are are further c'oolbd by contact with the water cooled wall 8, forming one side of the expansion chamber: The slot is arranged adjacent the center of the arc, so that the hot resultant material passes rapidly and directly from the flame, through the narrow slot, and is expanded and cooled. The issuing gases are, therefore, abruptly cooled, immediately after leaving the arc flame, by expansion and by contact with the water cooled surface, to a temperature below that at which any great percentage of the compounds produced would either dissociate or decompose.

In the construction shown in Fig. 3, instead of providing a narrow annular slot, I provide one or more narrow longitudinally disposed slots 31, disposed opposite the center of the arc. and through which the resultant gases issue to the expansion chamher. The expansion chamber discharge conduits are preferably disposed at points remote from the slots 31, to permit the gases to pass through the expansion chamber before discharging.

In this figure I have also shown the additional or alternative means of cooling the gases issuing from the arc chamber, by contacting them with a stream or streams of cold gas or vapor. Disposed in the expansion chamber 9 are elongated nozzles 3 having their discharge slots arranged adjacent the slots 31, so that cold gas or vapor discharging from the nozzles contacts with and abruptly cools the gases discharging through the slots 31. Gas or Vapor is conducted to the nozzles 34 through the conduits 35 which extend to a suitable source of gas or vapor supply.

It is understood that the electrodes are connected to a suitable source of electrical energy to produce the arc and that the arc is controlled by suitable electrical apparatus, such as both ohmic and inductive resistance. This is set forth in my prior Patent No. 1,056,830. It is also to be understood that one or both of the electrodes are movable longitudinally, so that they may be brought into contact or proximate contact to start the arc. after which they are separated the required distance to produce the desired arc flame.

While this invention is particularly adapted to the fixation of nitrogen, which may be accomplished by introducing air under pressure into the furnace chamber to produce oxide of nitrogen, it is to be understood that it is not limited to such use, since it may be used to combine nitrogen and hydrogen to form ammonia gas, or to combine carbon with nitrogen to form cyanogen gas, or to form acetylene, bcnzine, gasoline, hydrazine, and other compounds.

I claim:

1. An apparatus of the character described, comprising an arc chamber, means for producing an electric arc in said chamber, means for introducing materials into said chamber under pressure, and an expansion chamber surrounding the. arc chamber and communicating with the are chamber through an elongated narrow slot.

2. An apparatus of the character described, comprising an arc chamber, means for producing an electric arc in said chamber, means for introducing materials into said chamber under pressure, an expansion chamber surrounding the arc chamber and communicating therewith through a small opening and a cooling chamber interposed between the arc chamber and the expansion chamber.

3. An apparatus of the character described, comprising an arc chamber,

means for producing an electric arc in said chamber, means for introducing materials into said chamber under pressure, an expansion chamber surrounding the arc chamber and communicating therewith through a small open- 1n twiian the arc chamber'and expansion chamher, a wall of the cooling chamber serving as a wall of the expansion chamber.

4. An apparatus of the character described, comprising an arc chamber, means forproducing an electric arc in said chamber, means for introducing materials into said chamber under pressure, an expansion chamber surrounding the arc chamber, a cooling chamber interposed between the arc chamber and the expansion-chamber and a narrow passage extending through the cooling chamber and connectin the arc chamber and the expansion vcham er.

5. An apparatus of the character described, comprising an arc chamber, means for producing an electric arc in said chamber, means for introducing materials intosaid chamber under pressure, and awater jacketed expansion chamber surrounding the arc chamber and communicating therewith throu h a narrow opening.

6. in apparatus of the character described, comprising a cylindrical shell. means for producing an electric arc in said shell, a second shell surrounding and spaced from said first shell and forming therewith a closed chamber, means for circulating a cooling medium through said closed chamber, a third shell surrounding and spaced and a cooling chamber interposed be-;

from the second shell and forming therewith an expansion chamber, and one or more conduits extending through the coolin medium chamber and connecting the interlor of the first shell with the expansion chamber.

7. An apparatus of the character described, comprising an arc chamber, means for producin an electric arc in said chamber, means For introducing materials into said chamber under pressure so that they are subjected to the are, an expansion chamber surrounding the arc chamber, a cooling chamber interposed between the arc chamber and the expansion chamber having a wall of high heat conducting capacity common to the expansion chamber, and one or more conduits extending through the cooling chamber and connecting the expansion chamber with the arc chamber adjacent the center of the are.

8. An apparatus of the character described, comprising an arc chamber, means for producin an electric arc in said chamber, means or introducing materials into said chamber under pressure, an expansion chamber surrounding the arc chamber and communicating with the arc chamber through a small opening and means for directing a stream of gas or vapor toward the exit end of said opening.

9. An apparatus of the character described, comprising an arc chamber means for producing an electric arc in sai cham-. ber, means for introducing materials into said chamber under pressure, an expansion chamber surrounding the arc chamber and communicating with the arc chamber through .a small opening and a nozzle in said expansion chamber directed toward said opening for directing gas or vapor toward said opening.

10. An; apparatus of the character described, comprising an arc chamber, means for producing an electric arc in said chamber, means for introducing materials into said chamber under pressure, an expansion chambersurrounding the arc chamber and communicating therewith through a small opening, a cooling chamber interposed between the arc chamber and the expansion chamber and a nozzle in the expansion chamber directed toward said opening for directing gas or vapor toward said opening.

In testimon whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at an Francisco, California, this 15th day of November 1920.

HARRY n. RANKIN.

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